by Ann Brashshares
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Publication Date: April 25th 2017
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Pages: 304
ISBN: 9780385736893
Genre: Young Adult | Contemporary
Source: Review Copy
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Ann Brashares, beloved author of the bestselling The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, which has sold over 8.7 million copies in all formats, is back with another unforgettable story about fractured families, first love, and loss in her latest novel, THE WHOLE THING TOGETHER (Delacorte Press / on sale April 25, 2017 / $18.99), which carries a first printing of 100,000 copies. Readers will feel the sand between their toes and smell the salty air of Brashares’s Long Island beach town setting, which serves as the backdrop for Sasha and Ray’s unusual and budding relationship.
Summer for Sasha and Ray means the sprawling old house on Long Island. Since they were children, they’ve shared almost everything—reading the same books, running down the same sandy footpaths to the beach, eating peaches from the same market, laughing around the same sun-soaked dining table. Even sleeping in the same bed, on the very same worn cotton sheets. But they’ve never met.
Sasha’s dad was once married to Ray’s mom, and together they had three daughters: Emma, the perfectionist; Mattie, the beauty; and Quinn, the favorite. But the marriage crumbled and the bitterness lingered. Now there are two new families—and neither one will give up the beach house that holds the memories, happy and sad, of summers past.
The choices we make come back to haunt us; the effect on our destinies ripples out of our control . . . or does it? This summer, the lives of Sasha, Ray, and their siblings intersect in ways none of them ever dreamed, in a novel about family relationships, keeping secrets, and most of all, love. Booklist hailed THE WHOLE THING TOGETHER as “quintessential Brashares,” and fans of Brashares’s work as well as new readers will dive wholeheartedly into this original story that is a love letter to romance, summertime, and family—no matter how unconventional they may be.
Hey Bookworms!!
Today I'm helping to spread the love for The Whole Thing Together by the awesome Ann Brashares! Keep reading to see the Question & Answer session I had with Ann, and I'll be sharing my thoughts for the book below as well!
Today I'm helping to spread the love for The Whole Thing Together by the awesome Ann Brashares! Keep reading to see the Question & Answer session I had with Ann, and I'll be sharing my thoughts for the book below as well!
1. The Whole Thing Together has an interesting storyline. How did you come up with the idea for it?
I was itching to write a family epic with many viewpoints. I started with three daughters of divorced parents, which somehow led me down the road to Sasha and Ray--who are deeply, strangely connected but not related.
2. There were a lot of different characters in the book to follow. Who was your favorite character to write?
That is always a difficult question for me--like choosing favorites among children. If I were forced to answer I might say Ray, because I don't write the male point of view that often and I enjoy it.
3. The story is told from many different viewpoints, which I generally like, as I feel you get more information this way. Did you always plan to write the book this way, or did you ever consider writing it from just one characters perspective?
I knew from the outset this would be a book with multiple protagonists and many perspectives, so I just tried to stay close and true to whomever I was writing at the time. I tend to write the arc of each character from start to finish before I turn to the next one, so that helps keep me attached.
4. There was a pretty emotional twist near the end of the book. Was that hard for you to write?
Very hard. That kind of scene always is. I left it as a dark hole in the book and had to gird myself when it was finally time to fill it.
5. Most of your books are contemporary novels, while you have a few from other genres as well. What is your favorite genre to write?
So far I have written mostly contemporary fiction, but I love historical fiction and history generally, so I'd like to try that too.
6. Of all the books you've written so far, which is your favorite?
Again, hard to choose. My daughter says this one is her favorite.
7. What are you currently reading, (or what was the last book you read)?
I'm reading a novel by Hilary Mantel that takes place during the French Revolution called A Place of Greater Safety. She also wrote Wolf Hall which is one of my all-time favorites.
I was itching to write a family epic with many viewpoints. I started with three daughters of divorced parents, which somehow led me down the road to Sasha and Ray--who are deeply, strangely connected but not related.
2. There were a lot of different characters in the book to follow. Who was your favorite character to write?
That is always a difficult question for me--like choosing favorites among children. If I were forced to answer I might say Ray, because I don't write the male point of view that often and I enjoy it.
3. The story is told from many different viewpoints, which I generally like, as I feel you get more information this way. Did you always plan to write the book this way, or did you ever consider writing it from just one characters perspective?
I knew from the outset this would be a book with multiple protagonists and many perspectives, so I just tried to stay close and true to whomever I was writing at the time. I tend to write the arc of each character from start to finish before I turn to the next one, so that helps keep me attached.
4. There was a pretty emotional twist near the end of the book. Was that hard for you to write?
Very hard. That kind of scene always is. I left it as a dark hole in the book and had to gird myself when it was finally time to fill it.
5. Most of your books are contemporary novels, while you have a few from other genres as well. What is your favorite genre to write?
So far I have written mostly contemporary fiction, but I love historical fiction and history generally, so I'd like to try that too.
6. Of all the books you've written so far, which is your favorite?
Again, hard to choose. My daughter says this one is her favorite.
7. What are you currently reading, (or what was the last book you read)?
I'm reading a novel by Hilary Mantel that takes place during the French Revolution called A Place of Greater Safety. She also wrote Wolf Hall which is one of my all-time favorites.
More about Ann...
Ann Brashares is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, The Here and Now, 3 Willows, The Last Summer (of You & Me), and My Name Is Memory. She lives in New York City with her family. Visit Ann’s website at AnnBrashares.com and follow on Twitter @AnnBrashares.
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Of course I had my eye on The Whole Thing Together by Ann Brashares the moment I first saw it. I've only read a few of Ann's books so far, and have really enjoyed those, so I was pretty excited to check out this new book. When the opportunity arrive to check out an advanced copy, and to have a Q&A session with Ann, I jumped on it! You've read my Q&A with Ann above, now see what I thought of the book below!
The Whole Thing Together was a very interesting read. I've read a lot of contemporary novels in my time, and I can't say that I've read any other book that has such an storyline with such a... I'm going to say entwining storyline. With so many characters being related, and not related, but still somewhat related. Well, I'm not doing a very good job of describing this, so you'll just have to read the book to see what I'm talking about! Also, the book was a very quick read; I started and finished it in just a few hours time. (I'm a pretty big fan of contemporary novels, and I tend to read them quicker than most other genres .)
There were a lot of interesting characters to keep up with in the book, and trying to keep them sorted was a little confusing in the begining, but once I figured out who went where, it was a lot easier to read. Some of these characters you will really like, and some will definitely have to grow on you over time. I like that the story is told from different viewpoints, actually from at least 4 different viewpoints. I enjoy getting multiple characters perspectives, as I feel like you really get so much more information when the author writes this way. (And I'm all about the details!)
Overall; The Whole Thing Together was a very interesting read, and I'm glad that I had the opportunity to check it out, and to participate in this blog tour! I still have quite a few more of Ann's books that I still need to read, including finishing up the Sisterhood series, which I'm hoping to tackle this summer. (What better time to read them, right?) Get your copy of The Whole Thing Together in stores on April 25th!!
